Mid Mileage N55 2011 135i reliability? WARRANTY NECESSARY?

[Enzomnia]

I've had my 11' 135i since Oct. of 2013. Bought it used with 32k miles on it.
A few thousand miles after purchasing it I had the HPFP replaced under warranty due to a long cranking start.

Now the car has 79k miles on it and I haven't encountered any major problems (knock on wood). Only been to the dealer for maintenance. It is a manual though so I have no clue how reliable the DCT transmissions are. The car is modded as well. I do need to replace the battery though since the current one is dying.

So overall I think the N55 is a pretty reliable motor. I didn't purchase an extended warranty but I work at a dealership and they hook me up pretty well. Haha.

[PA135i]

You guys posting with less than 50K miles, it is unlikely you will encounter any major issues with that in the clock. My turbos went at 50K just under warranty and the next item to go was the WP at 72K. I would keep the $4000 and make sure you do the maintenance using the old school mileages. Not waiting a year or 15K for an oil change.

[i_love_cars]

Originally Posted by PA135i

You guys posting with less than 50K miles, it is unlikely you will encounter any major issues with that in the clock. My turbos went at 50K just under warranty and the next item to go was the WP at 72K. I would keep the $4000 and make sure you do the maintenance using the old school mileages. Not waiting a year or 15K for an oil change.

you have an N54. The OP is asking about N55.

Turbo failure on N55 is basically unheard of, and even on the N54 there is no significant design flaw in the turbos that cause them to fail. The wastegate rattle is the main cause of turbo failure on the N54.

[ShocknAwe]

With catastrophic engine failure being so incredibly infrequent, I do wonder sometimes how many of them can simply be attributed to folks being stupid and trying N2O. Guaranteed to blow your motor.

[sometorque]

I'd try and find a CPO car. I'm currently sitting at the dealer due to my 2011 intermittently flashing the ABS, DSC, and Brake lights. Dealership gave me a printout of the cars service history prior to my ownership, and while the only major things have been the fuel pump at 56k and the water pump at 62k, there have been a few smaller things that have popped up that would certainly add up without the warranty.

Generally, the N55 is going to be reasonably reliable, but the little things do add up.

[Orange fever]

2011 dct with 58k miles just replace waterpump

[sparky_phantom]

I bought my 2011 N55 at 45k miles and now have 50k. I haven't had any real big issues. Had to change out 1 ignition coil and changed all spark plugs while I was there since I don't know who previous owner was. Changed oil and oil filter. Normal things that should be changed. Nothing major and I have the DCT.

[azx33]

2011 335i N55 152,000 miles. Runs perfectly. Preventative maintenance done around 100,000 miles, new cooling system, pump, csf all aluminum radiator, hoses. New plugs and coils. Regular oil changes 5k intervals. Aluminum charge pipe and larger intercooler. Koni yellow adjustable and swift springs with the M3 change spring perch and isolator to adjust height. Added oil cooler and serviced tranny drain and fill. Other than that all stock

Car is my DD and is very reliable, idle is smooth and the power delivery is very good. I live in Phoenix and the cooling system handles the heat like a champ. I have no issues with the motor and trans.

[duder13]

I bought my 2012 N55 MT a year and a half ago with 37K miles, and now I have 47K miles. In that time, my water pump, OFHG and charge pipe all went, although I did put an MHD stage 1 tune on it before all of those things died.

When I bought this car, I expected all of the above to go, along with the fuel pump(I'm sure that's next,) so no surprises here. The engine itself is quite solid. It's just the things attached to it that tend to cause problems.

FWIW, while I can't speak to the 991/992 series Porsche 911s, the 996 and 997 Porsches have water pumps that are basically considered preventative maintenance, because they usually blow around 50K miles, and, IIRC, the dealer charges around $1400 to replace them. Just replacing a water pump and front control arm on my 911 made my BMW repair prices seem quaint, and that's not even taking into consideration the Targa top issue I had...

[Accrual_World]

I have a 2011 and just hit 100k here, and essentially only typical things have needed service. oil filter housing gasket, new pulleys, new belt, a reverse sensor, worn control arm bushings, plugs, parking brake adjustments, brakes, and that is really it.

However, at 79k my transmission decided to randomly stop going into reverse (manual trans), and this led to needing a replacement. Cost for a new one from BMW was $7,500 (didn't want a used one as i was worried it may have the same issue).

Ended up calling BMW NA, and after weeks of negotiation they ended up covering around 40% of the cost, so i ended up paying around $5k (purchased a few other things for them to do while in there). evidently the warranty that i was going to purchase months prior happened to be exactly the same amount I paid for the new transmission so i ended up up not terribly too angry about it, as I have had zero major issues since. And on the bright side I now have a transmission and clutch setup with only 21k on it, despite the body and rest of the drive-train having 100.

Upon a bit of investigation I have found over 5 people who have had this issue around the same mileage, and BMW still refuses to acknowledge or explain what is really happening on some of these transmissions. not enough issues for them to care i suppose.

Regarding warranties: my buddy who purchased his 335is a few month prior ended up getting the route 66 warranty through PenFed credit union and they have replaced many things that have malfunctioned; injectors, coilpacks, chargepipes, radiator/fan assembly, etc.. This is also the warranty I almost purchased as well, and if I were to recommend one, this would be it.